“I’ll help you,” Stephen said, and waited for her eyes to meet his. “If you’ll let me.”
Chapter 10
She hadn’t really wanted his help, but the alternative would have been to ask him to leave and disappoint an eight-year-old boy who lived a life of disappointment.
So she’d taken what Stephen offered and he’d done everything she’d asked. His hands were large but gentle, lifting Toby’s body into the saddle and taking him down when they were finished. He’d walked along on the right side as directed, while she led horse and rider through a series of maneuvers and games.
Now it was just the two of them in the quiet of the barn. Stephen had shed his polo, and the white T-shirt he wore beneath stretched deliciously across his chest. Even hotter than she’d imagined when she’d tried not to imagine him. Just watching him run his fingers through his damp hair was hot. He’d worked up a light sweat, making the fabric mold to the definition of his body. The muscles in his back flexed and his biceps strained against the cotton sleeves when he hung the special saddle where she pointed high on the wooden post.
God had been good to Stephen McKinney, blessing him with a sharp mind and charm, the body of an athlete, and a face so carefully carved, a girl might miss the rest. That he was a player, too hot, too skilled, and way too dangerous for her.
“Hannah?” He looked at her amused, his lips pulling up on one side, bringing out a faint dimple and a twinkle in his eye. “Is that it?”
“Yes.” Obviously she’d been caught staring and she threw the word out behind her and bolted from the tack room.
He followed. “So, you’re finished?”
“What? For the day? No. I mean…” God, he made her tongue-tied and twisted. “I don’t have any more students, but I have more stuff to do.”
“Okay. I’ll help.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You know how to muck a stall?”
“I’m pretty sure I could learn.” He gave her a slow, sexy smile. “Especially if I had a nice teacher.”
Yes, she was sure he could. Was probably a master at everything he did. But she eyed him, uncertain what to make of his sudden interest. He should have left an hour ago. He’d leave eventually anyway, and would most likely never come back.
While she debated, he took the decision out of her hands, grabbed a rake, and got busy. Probably how he approached everything in life, in business. With women. Self-assured, confident, in charge.
She looped a rope around Hazel’s neck and led her through the back of the barn to a turnout paddock. She did the same with two others so they could clean the stalls, then returned for the last one.
“Mr. Ed, huh. Do you talk?”
She stopped at the sound of Stephen’s deep voice and watched him scratch the old chestnut’s forehead.
“Oh, really? She said that about me?” He flashed her a wicked grin.
So heart-stoppingly gorgeous it was almost painful. But even then she couldn’t stop the sudden smile. And that’s why he was dangerous.
They worked in silence, only the scrape of shovel against concrete and the rustling of fresh hay. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel when his eyes met hers, when their bodies came within a breath of touching. A man she’d been attracted to, was still attracted to. A man she’d thought was interested in her and then found out he wasn’t.
But one thing she did know was fear, and that was strangely absent when she was with Stephen.
“So does this count as a kid’s physical therapy?”
“For some it does. A person might benefit from riding in general, versus going to a certified physical therapist using horseback riding specifically for therapy. That would be hippotherapy. It’s usually covered by insurance and though it might not replace everything done in PT, it covers most of it.”
He scooped a section of soiled hay. “Which are you?”
“On paper I’m a physical therapist, out here I guess I’m both. I have a blind student. I’m not really doing physical therapy, but feeling the horses, the tack, smelling them…it’s good for her. Just being outside, going places she couldn’t go on her own.”
When she looked up, Stephen was staring. “Sorry. I tend to go on and I probably already told you that.”
He leaned his shovel against the wall. “You didn’t and I wanted to hear it.” He looked at her another beat. “It’s good. What you do here. It’s special.”
Wow. His praise meant more to her than it should. “Thanks.” Uncomfortable with his intense stare, she fumbled with the stall latch like it needed attention until she heard Stephen pick up his tool and start again.
“I have a brother.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “You have a lot of brothers.” Something they had in common.
“Yeah.” He smiled. “But my youngest brother, J.T….he lost his leg, part of his leg, just over a year ago. Car accident.”
She stopped and studied him, staring at the hay, looking like a giant weight was pressing on his shoulders. Maybe that’s why he was here, seeking help for his brother. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
He went back to work and she took it as a signal he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. A second later, a clap of thunder rumbled and rolled. When she stepped from the stall, the open barn doors revealed a darkened sky, pressing down in an angry gray on the fields and beyond. “I better get the horses.”